Gaming addictions & others

[Mr. Bloom]

You're right V.

On the bell ringers, is it possible that they're simply very comfortable with you rather than being rude?

[Veronica]

You're right V.

On the bell ringers, is it possible that they're simply very comfortable with you rather than being rude?

No - the first time I made it clear that it was MY bike and not a community toy. This class will also just take things off my desk or read things on my desk.


Veronica

[Mr. Bloom]

No - the first time I made it clear that it was MY bike and not a community toy. This class will also just take things off my desk or read things on my desk.


Veronica

I know you've shared some of your student challenges before. That's unfortunate.

[ClockworkOrange]

Moderation in everything I suppose.

Going slightly off topic, it always amuses me when parents will not let their children play with toy guns! So they end up using pieces of Lego or sticks, with the same result.

My nearly 7 year old grandson plays the PS3 and these days, I just cannot win any car games...........grrrrrr. Thankfully he is a good all-rounder, has started reading paperbacks for Ages 10+ years.

Is learning to play the electric guitar and his favourite artists are all the classics Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple etc.

It is apparently common these days with some young children when putting them to bed, they have to have a DVD playing!!!

Clock............or maybe old Crock

[RoadRaven]

Going slightly off topic, it always amuses me when parents will not let their children play with toy guns! So they end up using pieces of Lego or sticks, with the same result.

This is a discussion I have with every second-year group I teach (Teaching Degree).
I believe it is important to allow this play, because as you say, it will happen regardless.
Therefore, gun-play should be seen as opportunity.

We can teach children about safety (never point guns/rifles at people, is the rifle cocked, have you broken open your shotgun)
Also, in New Zealand, this is about conservation... we have a high number of introduced species here, so the hunting of deer, possums and rabbits is vital to preserving our native bird-life and our forests. Humans are the only natural predators here.

[lph]

I heartily dislike being pointed at with any toy that looks like or pretends to be a gun. I never forbade my son to play with toy guns, but I didn't give them to him myself, and he was not allowed to point them at me. But that was just expressing my opinions about guns and expecting him to respect it.
Re games - some children do get more easily hooked than others. Like me he has the ability to block the entire world out and concentrate for a long time on one thing, whether it's reading, watching tv or playing a game, and has trouble breaking out of it. So we have to limit his computer use every now and then - but that also applies to reading. Sometimes we have to argue for ages to get him to join us for something outdoors, even though he's been out camping, fishing, skiing, biking, kayaking, rock climbing, you name it, since he was tiny. And he loves it! It's just changing whatever he's doing at the moment he hates...

[Irulan]

Moderation in everything I suppose.

Going slightly off topic, it always amuses me when parents will not let their children play with toy guns! So they end up using pieces of Lego or sticks, with the same result.

Clock............or maybe old Crock

My eldest brother was able to get CO status for the Vietnam war as he never, ever was allowed to handle toys guns. ( the stick and lego thing aside, I suppose as it's true)

[OakLeaf]

Going slightly off topic, it always amuses me when parents will not let their children play with toy guns! So they end up using pieces of Lego or sticks, with the same result.

Depends on how you define "the same result." Probably in the UK you're talking about whether kids grow up aggressive or pacifist.

In the US, what happens is that kids play with "guns" without learning appropriate firearm handling skills. So when they get their hands on a real gun, they're still handling it as though it were a toy. They don't know your most basic things like being aware of their line of fire or keeping their finger out of the trigger guard or being sure it's unloaded. And they wind up shooting someone else or themselves, unintentionally.

Not that I have children, but no way would I let a child of mine play with a toy gun. I would teach h/h to shoot a real one, though.

[vinbek]

I have a 10 year old son and a 13 year old daughter. We try to instill values, respect, integrity, honesty in everything we do. Won't know if its taking until they get older, but many of their friends don't have solid boundaries for what is right and wrong or appropriate. When they were younger and had friends over - I would sit them down with the other parent present and explain the rules at my house - and that they might be different elsewhere, but these are the rules they are following while at my house. I have to do this at school too. I am an elementary school librarian and I try very hard to encourage the kids to read - especially the boys who lose interest in reading. It seems more time is spent with behavioral issues than actual learning issues these days. The students don't want to take responsibility for their actions and the parents don't either. But I am a different generation than most parents with kids my age - I had my first one at 41......Bekki

[wildhawk]

I feel that technology is a vital part of a child’s learning experience in this day and time, but that a balance has to be struck between video and hands on learning and physical activity. I am dismayed that so few parents spend enough time doing physical activities with their children and that kids are spending entirely too much time in cyber activities via the internet. The rise in obesity in children in America is one example of the growing lack of physical activity. I would much rather see families playing outdoor sports together, camping, hiking, biking, etc. I remember when tv took over in my childhood and blame a large part of my problems with obesity on that. We spent hours in front of our old black and white tv - what an addiction! And we did not have game systems and computers then. My DH and I still use rabbit ears for tv reception and eventhough we own an xbox game system we rarely play for very long. As I get older, I value my free time and want to enjoy my many hobbies and time with my DH. I am also concerned about the meteoric rise of text messaging and young people. I am seriously worried about kids losing their speaking, spelling and writing skills. I remember Pastor Billy Graham being asked one time in an interview that if he could change one thing about his life what would that be and he replied, “I would have spent less time watching television!”

[RoadRaven]

In the US, what happens is that kids play with "guns" without learning appropriate firearm handling skills.

YES, this is the key.
We are a hunting family. All (5) of my children grew up with rifles. But all of them knew basic safety before they were 4yrs old (never point at people or houses or cars... always rely on a bolt being open but don't rely on a safety catch... etc)

Even their toy guns were only used to go hunting deer or bears (my daughter placed a ban on hunting for tigers as they are endangered!), or to "play" at target shooting. They knew no war or shoot'em-up games were ok - though that did of course happen sometimes.

This safety awareness was obvious... to the point of two of my children (aged nearly 4 and nearly 5) telling my brother-in-law off because he came into the house with the bolt still in his rifle - bolts have to come out if you are in the house with a rifle. They noticed before he had made it 5 steps inside the door. Even him showing them the magazine and breech were empty wasn't good enough and he had to remove the bolt!!!

Aged now between 20 and 13, my children have good firearms safety awareness, and to date we have had no injuries or hooliganish behaviour.